In this paper, 1416 conventional ground-based meteorological
observation stations on the mainland of China were subdivided into
groups of differing spatial density. Data from each subgroup were then
used to analyze variations in the tropical cyclone (TC) precipitation
statistics derived from each subgroup across the mainland of China
(excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao), as well as in two regions
(east China and south China) and three provinces (Guangdong, Hainan,
and Jiangxi) between 1981 and 2010. The results showed that for the
mainland of China, total precipitation, mean annual precipitation, mean
daily precipitation, and its spatial distribution were the same
regardless of the spatial density of the stations. However, some minor
differences were evident with respect to precipitation extremes and
their spatial distribution. Overall, there were no significant
variations in the TC precipitation statistics calculated from different
station density schemes for the mainland of China. The regional and
provincial results showed no significant differences in mean daily
precipitation, but this was not the case for the maximum daily
precipitation and torrential rain frequency. The maximum daily
precipitation calculated from the lower-density station data was
slightly less than that based on the higher-density station schemes,
and this effect should be taken into consideration when interpreting
regional climate statistics. The impact of station density on TC
precipitation characteristics was more obvious for Hainan than for
Guangdong or Jiangxi provinces. In addition, the effects were greater
for south China (including Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, Guangdong,
and Hainan provinces) than east China (including Shandong, Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces). Furthermore,
the analysis proved that the statistical climatic characteristics began
to change significantly when the station spacing was between 40 and 50
km, which are close to the mean spacing for all stations across the
mainland of China. Moreover, TC areal precipitation parameters,
including mean total areal precipitation and mean daily areal
precipitation, also began to change significantly when the spacing was
between 40 and 50 km, and were completely different when it was between
100 and 200 km.